Pamela Dickey Young

Professor of Religion and Culture, Theology, Women's Studies
Theological Hall 402
613 533 6000 x 74324
youngpd@queensu.ca

Education

 B.A. Dalhousie University, 1976
M.Div. Atlantic School of Theology, 1978
Ph.D. Southern Methodist University, 1983

Research Focus

Christianity and the Social Construction of Sexuality.

My current research project examines the social construction of sex and sexuality in relation to the Christian religious tradition, primarily in the North American context.
Where Christianity has been the dominant religious tradition it has been a force in the construction of our views of sex and sexuality. This research program looks at the explicit influences of Christianity on views of sex and sexuality through traditions, doctrines, historical theologies and so on. Further, it seeks to gauge the implicit influence of contemporary Christianity on these views through influence on law making and social opinion with particular emphasis on Canada. Finally, it attends to the possibility of presenting revised views of sex and sexuality within Christianity. Although there are many diverse and progressive Christian points of view on sexuality, the public image of Christianity is as a negative force in retheorizing sexuality. Throughout, this research will attend to the question of why this public image persists even in the face of much divergence within Christianity itself.

Discussion of the marriage of same-sex partners in Canada today is one example of an issue that has raised to the forefront the discussion of sexuality and religion, since opinions are being offered in the names of religious groups. Other views, often disguised as "secular," are still implicitly grounded in particular interpretations of the Christian tradition. This research project contributes to ongoing discussions of sexuality and religion by seeking to clarify, both for academic and popular audiences, the diverse and varied ways in which Christianity is connected to this and other discussions that arise on sexuality and public policy.

Publications

Women and Religious Traditions (editor and contributor; edited with Leona Anderson) Toronto: Oxford University Press (in press).

Re-creating the Church: Communities of Eros. Trinity Press International, 2000.

If the Christian church is going to be relevant to 21st-century culture, churches must be viewed as communities of eros, "communities where love entails both connection and passion." 

Feminist Theology/Christian Theology: In Search of Method. Wipf & Stock, 2000.
Christ in a Post-Christian World : How Can We Believe in Jesus Christ When Those Around Us Believe Differently- Or Not at All? Fortress Press, 1995.

Courses

Supervisions

Spencer Bullivant, MA 2009. Towards a new Understanding of the Views of the National Association of Evangelicals and Focus on the Family Regarding the Legalization of Same-sex Marriage: An Analysis Using the Theories of Judith Butler

Andrew Pump, MA 2009. The Possibility of Queer Ethics

Kathryn Neeley, MA 2008. "Comfort, comfort my people": The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) and Fundamentalist Christian Zionism

Stephanie Swift, MA 2008. The Quest for "Godly Heterosexuality": An Analysis of the Discourse of Christian Evangelical Ministries Through the Lens of Queer Theory

Geoffrey Seymour, MA 2007. The Goddess Ungendered: Gender and Performativity in Wicca and Goddess Spirituality

Sasha Baskerville, MA 2006. Religion in Canada: A Rational Choice Assessment of the Changing Canadian Religious Landscape

Lauren Levesque, MA 2006. Performing Inter-Religious Dialogue: Musical Performance as a Model and Tool for Dialogue

Wing-Hin Lee, MA 2005. Abstinence and marriage in contemporary evangelical Protestantism: An analysis using bisexual theory

Suzanne Armstrong, MA 2004. Ecofeminism and religion: the possibility for discussion between Goddess feminists and Latin American feminist liberation theologians

Danielle Chanda, MA 2004. A feminist analysis of the Christian submissions to the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies

Stephanie Hodgson, MA 2003. A feminist review of four Canadian Christian organizations and the abortion debate in late twentieth century Canada